Location, Sound & MusicIn addition to the digital work done at ILM, Attack
of the Clones' far-flung locales called for special
sets and home bases for the production. Although all four previous Star
Wars films were based in London, that tradition
changed when Lucas and McCallum elected to film EPISODES II and III at Fox
Studios Australia in Sydney. (A small amount of additional shooting did take
place in England's historic Listree Studios and Ealing Studios)

The Australian leg of the production journey began on June 26, 2000 and
continued for two-and-a-half months, after which the company moved to Italy for
location shooting. The Royal Palace at Caserta, which doubled as Queen Amidala's
-palace in The
Phantom Menace, again forms part of the Naboo
background to be seen in Attack of the Clones. Caserta
served as the perfect locale to capture Naboo's advanced society and rich
culture.

In northern Italy, Lake Como's manicured gardens, crystal clear waters, and
stunning Villa Balbianello served as locations for scenes depicting the
blossoming romance between Padme and Anakin. The locale, which Lucas himself
scouted during a vacation, impressed cast and crew members with its many
splendors, especially Hayden Christensen, who enjoyed his first trip oversees.
"Lake Como is so beautiful it looks almost surrealistic," he says.
"It looks like it belongs in a Star Wars movie."

Even an unexpected Lake Como rainstorm failed to dampen the production's
enthusiasm — or
shooting schedule. Lucas simply relocated the scene to underneath a series of
arches at the side of the villa. At the end of the day, the storm, miraculously,
cleared as quickly as it had arrived, leaving a gorgeous rainbow that appeared
in the back of the shot. "People will think it's a digital
creation," says Lucas, "but it's real."

In September 2000, the production moved to very familiar territory: Tunisia,
the real world location that has doubled as the desert planet Tatooine in two of
the previous Star Wars films.
While braving 130 degree (Fahrenheit) temperatures was par for the course for
this locale, the production managed to avoid the kind of massive storm that
decimated many sets during the 1997 EPISODE I and 1976 EPISODE IV Tunisia
location work.

Principal photography continued at the Plaza de Espafia in Seville, Spain,
which doubled for the beautiful city of Theed, the Naboo capital. On location in
the historic inland port, hundreds of enthusiastic Star
Wars fans of all ages gathered, hoping to get a
glimpse of the stars and filming. After shooting had wrapped for the day, many
of the filmmakers greeted the fans and signed autographs.

George Lucas long has noted that sound and visuals work together in telling
his stories, and Attack of the Clones is
no exception. The film showcases the talents of two artists whose work has been
acclaimed worldwide. Once again making their unique contributions to the Star
Wars universe are picture editor /OscarĀ®-winning
sound designer Ben Burtt and five-time Academy Award-winning composer John
Williams.

For twenty-five years, George Lucas has maintained that John Williams'
contributions to the Star Wars saga
cannot be overstated. His music underscores the films' characters, emotions
and action. "I've always said these are silent movies," says Lucas,
"and I'm very fortunate that John understands this."

Williams in turn appreciates the structure of Lucas' epic saga, which
allows, perhaps for the first time in hi